Data Center Rack Market – Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, Segmented By Component (Solution, Service), By Rack Type (Cabinets/ Enclosed Racks, Open Frame Rack), By Data Center Size (Large Data Centers, Small and Mid-sized Data Centers), By Rack Height (42U and Below, 43U up to 52U, Above 52U), By Industry Vertical (BFSI, Manufacturing, IT & Telecom, Retail, Healthcare, Media & Entertainment, Others), By Region & Competition, 2021-2031F

Forecast Period	2027-2031
Market Size (2025)	USD 4.99 Billion
CAGR (2026-2031)	9.22%
Fastest Growing Segment	Open Frame Rack
Largest Market	North America
Market Size (2031)	USD 8.47 Billion

Market Overview

The Global Data Center Rack Market will grow from USD 4.99 Billion in 2025 to USD 8.47 Billion by 2031 at a 9.22% CAGR. A data center rack is a standardized structural frame or enclosure designed to securely mount, organize, and protect IT equipment such as servers, storage modules, and networking switches within a data center facility. The primary drivers supporting market growth include the exponential surge in global data generation and the consequent necessity for scalable storage infrastructure. Additionally, the rapid expansion of hyperscale facilities and the intensifying adoption of high-performance computing to support artificial intelligence workloads are fundamentally fueling the demand for robust and adaptable rack solutions.

However, the market faces a significant challenge regarding the management of thermal constraints and power distribution limits. As hardware becomes more powerful, the heat generated within these enclosures often exceeds the capabilities of traditional air-cooling systems, requiring costly facility upgrades. According to AFCOM, in 2025, the average rack density increased to 16 kW per rack, reflecting the intense pressure on existing infrastructure to accommodate heavier power loads. This rapid escalation in density necessitates complex retrofitting of cooling systems, which can delay deployment and impede broader market expansion.

Key Market Drivers

The rapid expansion of hyperscale and cloud computing infrastructures serves as the primary engine for volume growth in the data center rack market. As major technology corporations aggressively build larger facilities to manage cloud operations, the requirement for physical enclosures to house servers scales linearly with facility capacity. This construction boom is creating an immediate need for standardized, scalable rack units that can be deployed quickly across vast server halls. According to CBRE, August 2024, in the 'North America Data Center Trends H1 2024' report, under-construction activity in primary markets reached a record high of nearly 3.9 gigawatts (GW), representing a substantial 69% increase compared to the previous year. This physical expansion directly translates into volume orders for server cabinets. According to Microsoft, in 2024, capital expenditures driven by cloud and AI demand surged to $20 billion in the first fiscal quarter alone, underscoring the massive financial investment currently fueling broader hardware procurement across the sector.

Simultaneously, the surging demand for high-density racks to support AI and HPC workloads is fundamentally reshaping product specifications and increasing unit value. Artificial intelligence applications utilize heavier, hotter GPUs that traditional enclosures cannot support, necessitating reinforced structures and the integration of liquid cooling manifolds. This shift requires racks engineered for extreme weight bearing and advanced thermal management rather than simple storage. According to JLL, July 2024, in the 'Data Centers 2024 Global Outlook', the requirements for AI-optimized data centers have shifted drastically, with operators now actively planning for power densities ranging from 50 kW to 100 kW per rack to accommodate these intensive workloads. Consequently, the market is moving toward specialized, higher-margin rack solutions designed to handle the thermal and physical stresses of next-generation computing.

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Key Market Challenges

The inability to effectively manage escalating thermal output creates a formidable bottleneck for the Global Data Center Rack Market. As rack power densities rise to accommodate heavy computational workloads, legacy infrastructure often reaches its physical limit in dissipating the resulting heat. This thermal ceiling restricts the ability of facility operators to deploy high-density racks at scale, forcing them to artificially cap the amount of IT equipment installed per enclosure. Consequently, the market experiences a deceleration in volume growth, as the demand for advanced rack architecture is physically constrained by the facility's incapacity to maintain safe operating temperatures for the housed equipment.

This infrastructure gap forces organizations to pause or delay procurement while attempting to address these deficiencies. According to AFCOM, in 2025, 34% of data center operators reported that their current cooling solutions were inadequate to meet their facility's needs. This statistic underscores a widespread operational stalling point where the deployment of modern, high-density racks is contingent upon complex and time-consuming facility retrofits. These delays directly impede market momentum, as the lead time required to upgrade cooling and power systems prevents the immediate installation of new rack units.

Key Market Trends

The transition toward taller and deeper high-density rack enclosures is accelerating as next-generation hardware requirements outgrow standard cabinet dimensions. The primary impetus for this structural shift is the physical footprint of emerging rack-scale computing platforms which integrate power shelves and manifolds directly into the frame. Manufacturers are engineering enclosures with extended depth to accommodate vertical power delivery systems that traditional cabinets cannot house. According to EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure, August 2025, in the '2025 Data Center Market Trends Report', industry roadmaps project that rack densities will exceed 300 kW by 2026, forcing a departure from legacy form factors. This physical upsizing allows for the consolidation of localized power distribution within the rack boundary.

The development of ruggedized and compact racks for edge computing is expanding the market into non-traditional environments. As data processing moves toward industrial and telecommunication sources, operators require enclosures capable of withstanding harsh conditions such as vibration and dust. These specialized units feature smaller footprints to fit space-constrained locations while ensuring equipment protection. According to Digi International, June 2025, in the 'Edge Computing Trends in Industrial and Enterprise Applications' report, 60% of edge computing deployments are expected to involve artificial intelligence by 2029, driving the demand for resilient infrastructure in decentralized settings. This trend prioritizes form-factor flexibility and physical durability over the massive scale of core facilities.

Segmental Insights

The Open Frame Rack segment is currently the fastest-growing category within the Global Data Center Rack Market. Trusted industry analysis attributes this rapid expansion to the significant cost-efficiency and accessibility these structures offer compared to enclosed cabinets. By facilitating unrestricted airflow, open frame designs enhance cooling performance and reduce energy consumption, which is essential for high-density operations. Furthermore, the absence of obstructive panels simplifies cable management and equipment maintenance. This segment is witnessing robust adoption in hyperscale facilities where physical security is managed at the room level, allowing operators to prioritize the economic and functional benefits of open infrastructure.

Regional Insights

North America maintains a dominant position in the global data center rack market due to the concentrated presence of major hyperscale operators and extensive colocation infrastructure. This leadership is sustained by the widespread adoption of high-performance computing applications, which necessitates durable and efficient rack enclosures. Additionally, the market benefits from rigid sustainability standards supported by the United States Department of Energy, prompting facility operators to upgrade existing hardware for better thermal management. These factors create a stable environment for continuous investment, ensuring the region remains the primary hub for data center infrastructure development.

Recent Developments

• In October 2024, Eaton announced the North American launch of its Heavy-Duty SmartRack enclosures, which were engineered to manage the physical demands of generative AI infrastructure. These new enclosures featured a static weight capacity of up to 5,000 pounds and were available in extra-deep configurations to house larger AI servers. The product line included high-density rack power distribution units and integrated cooling accessories designed to future-proof enterprise and hyperscale facilities. The enclosures were also offered in a glacier white finish to improve visibility during equipment installation and maintenance in high-density environments.
• In April 2024, Vertiv introduced a new portfolio of high-density infrastructure solutions titled Vertiv 360AI, designed to support the increasing power and cooling requirements of artificial intelligence workloads. This launch included a range of pre-engineered solutions comprising power, cooling, and enclosures capable of supporting up to 100kW per rack. The portfolio offered flexible cooling strategies, such as air-to-liquid and liquid-to-liquid models, to accommodate various deployment scenarios from edge inferencing to full-scale AI data centers. The initiative aimed to streamline the selection and deployment process for operators upgrading their facilities for accelerated computing.
• In March 2024, Schneider Electric announced a strategic collaboration with a technology leader to optimize data center infrastructure for artificial intelligence advancements. This partnership focused on introducing the first publicly available AI data center reference designs, which were tailored to support high-density computing clusters. The initiatives included the development of frameworks for high-power distribution and liquid-cooling systems specifically integrated within rack architectures. These designs aimed to assist operators in constructing energy-efficient and scalable facilities capable of managing the extreme workloads and thermal demands associated with generative AI applications.
• In March 2024, Inventec announced the launch of Artemis, a new 44OU rack solution designed to adopt the NVIDIA MGX-based architecture. This product was engineered to accommodate the specific requirements of the NVIDIA GB200 Grace Blackwell Superchip, featuring a configuration suitable for high-performance AI communication. The rack system supported advanced networking platforms and was constructed to house a 72-GPU interconnected system, delivering substantial communication performance for generative AI. This development highlighted the company's focus on providing flexible engineering capabilities to meet the diverse and growing needs of large language model applications in data centers.

Key Market Players

• Schneider Electric SE
• Rittal GmbH & Co. KG
• Eaton Corporation plc
• Vertiv Group Corp.
• Dell Technologies Inc.
• Emerson Electric Co.
• Panduit Corporation
• Legrand S.A.
• Intel Corporation
• Chatsworth Products, Inc.

By Component	By Rack Type	By Data Center Size	By Rack Height	By Industry Vertical	By Region
Solution Service	Cabinets/ Enclosed Racks Open Frame Rack	Large Data Centers Small and Mid-sized Data Centers	42U and Below 43U up to 52U Above 52U	BFSI Manufacturing IT & Telecom Retail Healthcare Media & Entertainment Others	North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa

Report Scope:

In this report, the Global Data Center Rack Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• Data Center Rack Market, By Component:

• Solution
• Service

• Data Center Rack Market, By Rack Type:

• Cabinets/ Enclosed Racks
• Open Frame Rack

• Data Center Rack Market, By Data Center Size:

• Large Data Centers
• Small and Mid-sized Data Centers

• Data Center Rack Market, By Rack Height:

• 42U and Below
• 43U up to 52U
• Above 52U

• Data Center Rack Market, By Industry Vertical:

• BFSI
• Manufacturing
• IT & Telecom
• Retail
• Healthcare
• Media & Entertainment
• Others

• Data Center Rack Market, By Region:

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• Europe
• France
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Germany
• Spain
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• Australia
• South Korea
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia
• Middle East & Africa
• South Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE